Mapping STI policy capacity building initiatives and exploring its transformative value for the SDGs
Authors: Chowdhury, Farzana - Herrera, John Mark - Liu, Yiru - Shi, Xinyang - Simpson, Ashlin
Advisers: Dr Jean-Christophe Mauduit and Dr Ine Steenmans
Department for Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP), University College London (UCL)
Background
In 2015, the United Nations set up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to achieve a more sustainable future. 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were proposed in the 2030 Agenda to achieve the balance between economic, social and environmental development (United Nations, 2015b). Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) are identified as an important component for achieving the SDGs by 2030 (United Nations, 2015a). The last goal, SDG17, relates to the implementation of the SDGs and fostering global cooperation and partnerships. SDG17 has 19 targets, one of which is to “strengthen the science, and innovation capacity in the least developed countries” (Target 17.8, SDG 17). The “Technology Facilitation Mechanism” (TFM) was launched to support the implementation of the SDGs, and the UN Interagency Task Team (IATT) on STI for SDGs is one of its mechanisms to actualise TFM (United Nations, 2021a).
The UN-IATT’s Workstream 6 (WS6) focuses on STI capacity building (CB) and began to deliver training sessions on STI policy for SDGs in 2017, especially for developing economics (United Nations, 2021b). WS6 aims to improve the capacity of policymakers, public sector experts and other key STI stakeholders by informing them of the approaches of STI policymaking and policy implementation, and to enhance their ability to integrate STI into their strategies to achieve the SDGs (UN-IATT, 2021).
Purpose
The following results present a mapping analysis undertaken by a group of MPA students at University College London (UCL) in collaboration with the United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), who are a member of the UN-IATT WS6. The research evidence is a part of a wider research project exploring the transformative value of STI policy capacity building for the SDGs. The purpose of this analysis was to map global STI capacity building initiatives to establish the most current landscape on such programmes, their relationship to the SDGs, as well as gaps and opportunities in the field. This also served to position the UN-IATT workshops in the global context of STI capacity building. Our research mapped where global initiatives are taking place, who is involved in them, how they are being delivered and their topics. To accomplish this, we undertook desktop research and used a web scraping software to collect raw data on global STI policy training initiatives. Content analysis of each initiative enabled them to be mapped according to the research focus.
This activity was an initial attempt to map global STI capacity building initiatives to fill a gap in the current literature and gather insights that were relevant to the project, as well as the UN-IATT. However, this is by no means a exhaustive and finalised account of all available initiatives. Therefore, the researchers welcome contributors to use and add to the dataset.
The following results present the characteristics of global STI capacity building initiatives collected by the researchers following a web scraping exercise.
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Summary Statistics
The desktop research returned a total of 97 STI capacity building initiatives. Each of these were mapped to different characteristics.
Topic
Figure 1: Distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives covering different topics. | Topics | Number of initiatives |
|---|---|
| Policymaking | 44 |
| Monitoring and Evaluation | 38 |
| Emerging Technology | 32 |
| Entrepreneurship | 21 |
| Economics | 19 |
| Analytic Methods | 18 |
| Environment | 16 |
| Research and Development | 14 |
| Society and Culture | 14 |
| Political Environment | 13 |
| Science Diplomacy | 13 |
| Frameworks | 12 |
| SDGs | 12 |
| Sustainable Development | 11 |
| Policy Instruments | 10 |
| Case Studies | 9 |
| Intellectual Property | 9 |
| Policy Implementation | 9 |
| Education | 8 |
| Energy | 8 |
| Funding | 7 |
| Science Advocacy | 7 |
| Roadmap | 7 |
| Healthcare | 6 |
| Gender | 6 |
| Innovation Systems | 6 |
| Digitalisation | 5 |
| COVID-19 | 4 |
| Space | 3 |
| Foresight | 2 |
| Policy Analysis | 1 |
| Risk | 1 |
Table 1: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to each topic
Country of Organisations
Figure 2: Distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the countries of the organisations providing programmes. | Country of organisation | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| USA | 23 |
| UK | 13 |
| India | 7 |
| Russia | 5 |
| Japan | 4 |
| China | 3 |
| Ethiopia | 3 |
| France | 3 |
| Pakistan | 3 |
| South Africa | 3 |
| South Korea | 3 |
| Thailand | 3 |
| Belgium | 2 |
| Switzerland | 2 |
| Australia | 1 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 |
| Brazil | 1 |
| Canada | 1 |
| Chile | 1 |
| Colombia | 1 |
| Denmark | 1 |
| Ghana | 1 |
| Jordan | 1 |
| Kenya | 1 |
| Lebanon | 1 |
| Malaysia | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| Republic of Congo | 1 |
| Seychelles | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 |
| Tanzania | 1 |
Table 2: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the countries of the organisations providing programmes.
Note: Initiatives with unspecified and multiple countries were excluded.
Training Provider
Figure 3: Distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the type of organisation providing training. | Training provider | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| Academic institution | 52 |
| Non-governmental agency | 32 |
| Government agency | 11 |
| Other | 1 |
| Private organisation | 1 |
Table 3: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the type of organisation providing training.
Training Type
Figure 4: Distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the type of training programme. | Training Type | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| Workshop | 39 |
| Short Course | 27 |
| Degree | 26 |
| Guidebook | 3 |
| MOOC | 2 |
Table 4: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the type of training programme.
*MOOC - Massive Online Open Course
STI Expertise
The ‘advanced’ level indicates that the course covers STI policy best practice, emerging issues, case studies, indicators of success and how to track impact, whilst targeting individuals with a high level of knowledge and expertise. The ‘intermediate’ level covers the basics of STI policy and some prior knowledge of policymaking is desirable for participation. The ‘basic’ level covers the very basics of policymaking and barriers to entry are very low as no prior knowledge and experience are required.
Figure 5: Distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the level of STI expertise. | Levels | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| Advanced | 46 |
| Intermediate | 34 |
| Basic | 17 |
Table 5: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the level of STI expertise.
Duration
Figure 6: Distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the length of their durations. | Duration | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| < 1 week | 49 |
| 1 year + | 22 |
| < 1 month | 8 |
| < 3 months | 7 |
| Unspecified | 5 |
| < 6 months | 3 |
| < 1 year | 2 |
| NA | 1 |
Table 6: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the length of their durations.
Locality
Figure 7: Distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives according to their localities. | Region or Country Specific | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| Unspecified | 51 |
| Regional | 31 |
| Country-specific | 15 |
Table 7: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to their localities.
Target Audience
Figure 8: Distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the type of target audience. | Target audience | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| Professionals | 56 |
| Students | 29 |
| General | 10 |
| Other | 2 |
Table 8: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the type of target audience.
Target Audience Location
Figure 9: Distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives according to target audience location. | Target Audience Location | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| Any | 35 |
| Multiple | 15 |
| Unspecified | 10 |
| Africa | 9 |
| USA | 7 |
| India | 5 |
| Asia Pacific | 2 |
| Europe | 2 |
| South East Asia | 2 |
| Canada | 1 |
| China | 1 |
| East Asia | 1 |
| Ghana | 1 |
| Iran | 1 |
| Jordan | 1 |
| Latin America | 1 |
| Seychelles | 1 |
| South Asia | 1 |
| Thailand | 1 |
Table 9: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to target audience location.
Delivery Method
Figure 10: Distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the type of delivery method. | Delivery Method | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| In Person | 58 |
| Online - Others | 19 |
| Online - Zoom | 12 |
| Online - Teams | 6 |
| Publication | 1 |
| NA | 1 |
Table 10: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the type of delivery method.
SDG Connection
The level of the SDG connection gives an indication of how closely STI policy capacity building initiatives are aligned with the SDGs.
A ‘low’ SDG connection suggests there is no mention of the SDGs. The training may have some mention of sustainability, but this is a minor aspect.
A ‘medium’ SDG connection indicates that sustainability may be a significant focus of the workshop, although there is little to no explicit connection to the SDGs.
A ‘high’ SDG connection shows that the training is highly relevant to the SDGs and there should be an explicit connection made in the course title or description.
Figure 11: Distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the strength of their connection to the SDGs. | SDG Connection | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| High | 23 |
| Medium | 22 |
| Low | 52 |
Table 11: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the strength of their connection to the SDGs.
SDG Connection: a close look
The level of the SDG connection gives an indication of how closely STI policy capacity building initiatives are aligned with the SDGs. The contribution of the SDGs in the content of the STI capacity building initiatives was highly variable. To better understand the differences that the levels of SDG connection had on the characteristics of STI capacity building, further analysis was conducted. This allowed for the dissemination of the interdependencies and gaps that that exist in STI capacity building for the SDGs.
A ‘low’ SDG connection suggests there is no mention of the SDGs. The training may have some mention of sustainability, but this is a minor aspect.
A ‘medium’ SDG connection indicates that sustainability may be a significant focus of the workshop, although there is little to no explicit connection to the SDGs.
A ‘high’ SDG connection shows that the training is highly relevant to the SDGs and there should be an explicit connection made in the course title or description.
Training Provider
Figure 12: The relationship between the degree of SDG connection and the type of organisation providing training in global STI capacity building initiatives. |
SDG Connection
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of organisation | Low | Medium | High |
| Academic institution | 31 | 17 | 4 |
| Government agency | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| Non-governmental agency | 11 | 4 | 17 |
| Other | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Private organisation | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Table 12: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the level of SDG connection and the type of organisation providing training.
Country by Organisations
High
Figure 13: The distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives with a high connection to the SDGs according to the countries of the organisations providing programmes.
| Country of organisation | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| USA | 4 |
| France | 3 |
| UK | 3 |
| Japan | 2 |
| South Africa | 2 |
| South Korea | 2 |
| Belgium | 1 |
| Denmark | 1 |
| Ghana | 1 |
| India | 1 |
| Lebanon | 1 |
| Republic of Congo | 1 |
| Switzerland | 1 |
Table 13: The number of global STI capacity building initiatives with a high SDG connection according to the countries of the organisations providing programmes.
Medium
Figure 14: The distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives with a medium connection to the SDGs according to the countries of the organisations providing programmes.
| Country of organisation | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| USA | 8 |
| UK | 5 |
| Canada | 1 |
| China | 1 |
| Ethiopia | 1 |
| Malaysia | 1 |
| Multiple | 1 |
| Russia | 1 |
| South Africa | 1 |
| South Korea | 1 |
| Thailand | 1 |
Table 14: The number of global STI capacity building initiatives with a medium SDG connection according to the countries of the organisations providing programmes.
Low
Figure 15: The distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives with a low connection to the SDGs according to the countries of the organisations providing programmes. | Country of organisation | Number of STI Initiatives |
|---|---|
| USA | 11 |
| India | 6 |
| UK | 5 |
| Russia | 4 |
| Pakistan | 3 |
| China | 2 |
| Ethiopia | 2 |
| Japan | 2 |
| Thailand | 2 |
| Australia | 1 |
| Belgium | 1 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 |
| Brazil | 1 |
| Chile | 1 |
| Colombia | 1 |
| Jordan | 1 |
| Kenya | 1 |
| N/A | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| Seychelles | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 |
| Switzerland | 1 |
| Tanzania | 1 |
Table 13: The number of global STI capacity building initiatives with a low SDG connection according to the countries of the organisations providing programmes.
Training Type
Figure 16: The relationship between the degree of SDG connection and the type of training in global STI capacity building initiatives.
|
SDG Connection
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of training | Low | Medium | High |
| Degree | 16 | 7 | 3 |
| Guidebook | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| MOOC | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Short Course | 14 | 7 | 6 |
| Workshop | 19 | 6 | 14 |
Table 16: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the level of SDG connection and the delivery method.
Topics
High
Figure 17: The distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives with a high connection to the SDGs according to different topic areas.
| Topic | Count |
|---|---|
| Policymaking | 10 |
| Monitoring and Evaluation | 10 |
| SDGs | 8 |
| Emerging Technology | 7 |
| Sustainable Development | 5 |
| Political Environment | 5 |
| Analytic Methods | 5 |
| Case Studies | 4 |
| Policy Implementation | 4 |
| Roadmap | 3 |
| Frameworks | 3 |
| Policy Instruments | 3 |
| Society and Culture | 3 |
| Economics | 2 |
| Science Diplomacy | 2 |
| Gender | 2 |
| Environment | 2 |
| Research and Development | 2 |
| Healthcare | 2 |
| Innovation Systems | 1 |
| Energy | 1 |
| Foresight | 1 |
| Entrepreneurship | 1 |
| Education | 1 |
Table 17: The number of global STI capacity building initiatives with a high SDG connection according to different topic areas.
Medium
Figure 18: The distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives with a medium connection to the SDGs according to different topic areas. | Topic | Count |
|---|---|
| Monitoring and Evaluation | 8 |
| Economics | 7 |
| Emerging Technology | 7 |
| Policymaking | 6 |
| Political Environment | 5 |
| Entrepreneurship | 5 |
| Society and Culture | 4 |
| Funding | 4 |
| Energy | 4 |
| Environment | 4 |
| COVID-19 | 4 |
| Digitalisation | 3 |
| Research and Development | 3 |
| Policy Instruments | 3 |
| Frameworks | 3 |
| Space | 2 |
| Innovation Systems | 2 |
| Sustainable Development | 2 |
| Education | 2 |
| Healthcare | 2 |
| Case Studies | 1 |
| Analytic Methods | 1 |
| Intellectual Property | 1 |
| Science Diplomacy | 1 |
| Policy Implementation | 1 |
| SDGs | 1 |
Table 17: The number of global STI capacity building initiatives with a medium SDG connection according to different topic areas.
Low
Figure 19: The distribution of global STI capacity building initiatives with a low connection to the SDGs according to different topic areas. | Topic | Count |
|---|---|
| Policymaking | 28 |
| Monitoring and Evaluation | 20 |
| Emerging Technology | 18 |
| Entrepreneurship | 15 |
| Analytic Methods | 12 |
| Science Diplomacy | 10 |
| Environment | 10 |
| Economics | 10 |
| Research and Development | 9 |
| Intellectual Property | 8 |
| Science Advocacy | 7 |
| Society and Culture | 7 |
| Frameworks | 6 |
| Education | 5 |
| Roadmap | 4 |
| Political Environment | 4 |
| Sustainable Development | 4 |
| Gender | 4 |
| Funding | 4 |
| Policy Instruments | 4 |
| Case Studies | 4 |
| Policy Implementation | 4 |
| Energy | 3 |
| SDGs | 3 |
| Innovation Systems | 3 |
| Healthcare | 2 |
| Digitalisation | 2 |
| Space | 1 |
| Policy Analysis | 1 |
| Risk | 1 |
| COVID-19 | 1 |
| Foresight | 1 |
Table 19: The number of global STI capacity building initiatives with a low SDG connection according to different topic areas.
Delivery Method
Figure 20: The relationship between the degree of SDG connection and the delivery method in global STI capacity building initiatives.
|
SDG Connection
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery Method | Low | Medium | High |
| Guidebook | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| In Person | 36 | 11 | 11 |
| Online - Others | 8 | 6 | 5 |
| Online - Teams | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Online - Zoom | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| Publication | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Table 20: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the level of SDG connection and the delivery method.
STI Expertise
Figure 21: The relationship between the degree of SDG connection and the level of STI expertise in global STI capacity building initiatives.
|
SDG Connection
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Level of STI expertise | Low | Medium | High |
| Advanced | 17 | 14 | 15 |
| Intermediate | 18 | 8 | 8 |
| Basic | 17 | 0 | 0 |
Table 21: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the level of SDG connection and the level of STI expertise.
Target Audience
Figure 22: The relationship between the degree of SDG connection and the type of target audience in global STI capacity building initiatives.
|
SDG Connection
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of target audience | Low | Medium | High |
| General | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Other | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Professionals | 29 | 13 | 14 |
| Students | 18 | 8 | 3 |
Table 22: Number of global STI capacity building initiatives according to the level of SDG connection and the type of target audience.
References
United Nations. (2015a). ‘Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development’. Available at: https://www.un.org/esa/ffd/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AAAA_Outcome.pdf (Accessed: 6 July 2021).
United Nations. (2015b). Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Available at:
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/
post2015/transformingourworld/publication (Accessed: 8 July 2021).
United Nations. (2021a). Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/tfm (Accessed: 12 August 2021).
United Nations. (2021b). UN capacity-building programme on technology facilitation for SDGs. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/tfm/interagency-task-team/capacity (Accessed: 7 July 2021).
UN-IATT. (2021). ‘Progress Report and Way forward of the activities of the Interagency Task Team (UN-IATT) Work Stream 6 (WS6) on Capacity Building on STI for SDGs’.